Supporting My Little Stunt Woman

I want to start this blog with a question. Is it just MY child or are ALL 3 year old trying to kill themselves ? Since my last blog my little three-year-old Gandhi Gentle princess has become a Clumsy Acrobat/Ninja! Seriously, Luna Marie is like a relentless non stop stunt woman with zero technique. She cannot sit still! I thought it was only boys that went Kamakazi like this!

If Luna Marie is sitting, she is not happy unless 1 or 2 legs of the chair are off the floor or, her body is leaning off the chair balancing precariously at the edge, or her favorite position, balancing in the middle of two chairs in some kind of crazy uncomfortable looking Frog Split.
Now before I continue, I need to point out that YES! I make sure my child is safe… Yes! I keep her near me and YES! I always use extreme caution BUT,,,,

If Luna Marie is at the park, my child is not happy unless she is on the highest bar of the jungle gym or the tallest branch of a tree or jumping over the biggest, Deepest hole at the park. Luna Marie does all this with the same two mantras. The first one: “Mommmmmma!!! Look at me!!! Look at me, Momma!!!” For me,, this is the hardest time, I mean I don’t want to treat my little girl like she’s made out of glass or wrap her in bubble wrap or anything! And I also don’t want to be constantly correcting her or warning her. Or my least favorite reprimanding her. I mean,, I don’t want her to be such a delicate flower that she’s too prissy to play and get out there and mix it up! I don’t want to keep her all dolled up and clean… I want her to feel she’s more than just a pretty face. So,,,,at the park where she is going crazy like a Tasmanian devil,, jumping,, swinging ,,,flipping and yes falling. There I sit, stand or hover, filled with anxiety, oh so closely by my child’s side. That is when the non stop debate in my head begins. Should I step in? Am I being over protective? Am I neglecting her? Am I smothering her? Am I,,, Am I,,, AM I? THEN WHEN I DECIDE TO JUMP IN to rescue I am LOUDLY rebuffed with an “I don’t need help, Mommma!” Only to be asked literally, I kid you not, two seconds later with “Mommma! I need help! Please help me!” ,,,,, and she pleads desperately like she has no recollection of the previous sentence! Crazy kid.

Usually at the park…I know she’s doing something that for sure is going to give her a “Boo Boo”. Often I am SO conflicted but,,, I stand back and let her do it anyway (Unless she’s going to break a bone or blind herself of course). I want her to have the experience of trial and error… To have the opportunity to find out first hand what will and what will not work. I want her to have her process! I sit there with the most authentic smile on my face. THANK GOD I AM AN ACTRESS!And I try to say supportive things,,, other than ‘Good Job’ ….. (honestly I think we have worn that phrase into the ground, right?)… I try to be creative “Look how strong you are” “That jump was SO far” “Wow you fell in the dirt and did not get a boo boo, EXCELLENT!” Basically I just try not to cringe! I watch her face beaming with enthusiasm and adventure…. full of just plain feistyness and pride while she experiments with her “Feats of Strength.” (aka “Falling down A lot!”)

I mean, THAT is what we want right? Our little girls to grow up to be strong independent women aware of their capabilities and proud of their accomplishments with strong bodies and a healthy self esteem??? And I figure, here is where it first starts, where the rubber meets the road: The Playground. With Luna Marie bumbling and tripping through her “Feats of Strength”. I let her relish in all that her body and sense of adventure can do (no matter how much it frikkin tortures me). I let her push herself. I let her experiment,, to have the pride and excitement even though I am worried pretty much every single minute..!. Yep! I take a lot of deep breaths and am exhausted when we are done!!!!!!

But that’s just it isn’t it? That’s the job…. Motherhood…. this whole Parenthood thing isn’t really about me (Dah-mit!) It’s about her. That is “Motherhood”,, tolerating the anxiety of allowing her the room to grow. Allowing her to make the mistakes and learn from them.

Usually I try to wrap it up and leave on a high note…. but sometimes, I misread how much energy she has,, she gets tired and right before I can make a hasty escape….BONK the “Boo Boo” comes, as I was pretty sure it would… And there I am “The Momma”. I try to do my best impression of a comforting superhero…. like a big bear I hold her while she cries, I soothe her, I wait……. I ask for a recap of what happened. I ask where the boo boo is, and after she has relaxed a bit ,,,I ask her what she could do to avoid that boo boo happening next time.(HINT HINT!!!) Then she wimpers a little, and then “Ka-pow!” like The Energizer bunny on steroids, she’s up again and running,,, onto the next thing. (Please, God, let her learn something about her limits, her power, or her resilience… SOMETHING! Please BEFORE I LOSE IT!)

Then ,,,,, she starts with the second mantra, this one is my favorite!! “Babies can’t do that!!” That’s when the smile happens. The biggest fattest thousand watt smile of confidence. My little Luna Marie is so proud! She wants to prove that she is growing bigger and stronger every day. She wants to be a big girl so fast it’s unbelievable. IF she could be a teenager tomorrow she would! That is her dream,, to be older!!!!! Funny and as women when we ACTUALLY ARE OLDER ALL WE WANT IS TO BE YOUNGER! OY! Oh! My little Luna Marie has plans… she starts talking about the next time and what she’s going to do next time,, and when she is bigger shell do more and then again she asks me “Mama? Babies can’t do that?” And I say, “No they can’t… you’re right, Sunshine. Babies cannot do that. You are a big girl now.”

Oh my gosh! This mommyhood thing is going to be a looong ride! Wish me luck! I would love to hear your comments about your little Stunt Women and Ninja Men too!

10 Responses to Supporting My Little Stunt Woman

I love her fearlessness, although I can see how stressful that’d be as a mama. My 3-year-old is probably a little too cautious, which I admit is in part due to my hovering. (Helicopter parent right here.) So we’re currently trying to encourage her to break out more, be more independent as it’s time for her to start doing things “big girl” style.

I love you show in my familia and George Lopez. I can relate alot to the story line. You are in inspiration of how positive you are and passing it on to your child. You both look so happy. May I ask what book is it that you read to her when she was a baby which insipred you to be even more positive and to share that with your little one?

I just saw u had this blog I like it I just became a mommy last July and the mommy green thing that’s cool I didn’t know that about diapers. U seem like an awesome mom I’m just gonna have to learn all these cool stuff. And u do great on switched at birth!

My youngest daughter, Amanda (4), scares the bejeebus out of me the way she jumps off of everything. She has been caught walking \balance beam style\ along the arched back of our sofa… and we have a Playskool portable slide that stands about 3 1/2 feet tall She will climb up the ladder and then literally jump off of it from the top… I think I have spotted some white hairs recently… lol BTW – I love you Constance… !!! YOU are Awesome and a wonderful mommy too. I’d also like to wish an early Happy Birthday! to your precious little Luna Marie !